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Featuring the Fabulous Dadbots
By Mark Mamerow, Mark O., Dave S., Dennis Curley, and Geoff Carter
Flaming’ Dadbots,
Joe Manchin has pulled out of Biden’s BBB bill. If he maintains this position, progressives will never trust moderates again.
It’s getting as bad in the Democratic Party as the Republicans have had it with the Freedom Caucus. There are enough outliers in the parties to STOP anything. And not enough mainstream lawmakers to PASS anything. Result? Paralysis. It’s not just the polarization between parties. It’s the rifts within the parties. (Last time the GOP was in charge, the only thing they could pass was a tax cut. And that is as easy as falling off a barstool. They couldn’t even accomplish their hearts’ most fervent desire – to deep-six Obamacare.)
I’m not sure whether the Dem progressives are too liberal, or the Dem moderates are too conservative. But they cannot get their act together and vote as a unit. So, everyone loses.
The immediate issue is that there are only 50 Democratic Senators. Not a single vote to spare, so every Senator becomes a kingmaker. If the Dems cannot win big enough to pass something, they might as well lose. What’s the point of winning if you’re just going to dither and squabble?
Looking beyond this bill, it’s clear that paralysis in Washington is a bigger threat to democracy than any of these whack laws being passed by the Republicans to restrict voting. It’s getting to the point that we are electing a President who appoints judges and commands the military. Congress doesn’t even matter. Why do you think the Supreme Court is ruling on major social issues in its every term? Because Congress can’t so much as name a Post Office or pass a resolution honoring mothers.
There is virtually no chance that any major issue can be dealt with by Congress. Immigration. Climate change. Entitlement reform. Real tax reform. Health care. Economic inequality. A compromise solution could be hammered out for any of these problems. But the incentives are all on the side of maximal confrontation.
Have a great Christmas and try not to catch Covid!
-Mark
Marko (AKA: MM, not MO)
Agree that re-election fears fuel paralysis. I’ll piggyback by observing that collective insouciance is what allows middlers to drift to the right… ”Those damned dems not only want entitlements for all but they can’t do jackshit even when they are in power”.
…yet somehow, it’s going to be ok. Even Trump recognized that Bannon is a nutcase.
Wonder where Bannon would fall on that famous Minnesota Personality Inventory questionnaire? Did any of you ever take it? I think it is illegal nowadays. At least extremely non P.C. I had to take it twice. I remember laughing out loud at some of the questions. Looking back on it, they were kind of creepy. As a 22-year-old, I once asked a shrink in Fond du lac who just gave me the test: “What the heck are they thinking with these whacko questions”? He told me, “You’d be surprised the number of loonies it snags.” The questions are straightforward, but then they slip in a zinger, like:
Q37: ………………………………..
Q38: …………………………………
Q39: Have you ever defecated in a sink?
Q40: ………………………………….
Q41: …………………………………
And then, I forget the wording, but they slip in a few Oedipus Complex probes…
I think about Bannon, possibly getting tripped up by such a test.
Stay positive…or at least thirsty, my friends,
-D.
I don’t know if Manchin is truly the sole holdout or if the Party leadership (including Biden) don’t really want the BBB bill to pass and Manchin is the designated villain. In my view, the tell on that question will be whether the Party disciplines Manchin (perhaps by stripping him of committee assignments) or not. If there are no serious consequences for refuting his party responsibilities, it tells me the Dems were not serious about this bill. If there are serious consequences for Manchin, he may respond by switching parties, which will probably help him in West Virginia. Having 49 Dems in the Senate vs. 50 won’t make a hill of beans difference.
Y’all have a wonderful Christmas and/or whatever your holiday of choice may be.
Cheers,
MO
“Flaming Dadbots”—ha. that’s pretty good.
Intriguing idea from Orlowski: i.e., Manchin isn’t really the “sole holdout”; he’s just taking the fall for other moderate Dems who are reluctant to admit their dislike of the BBB bill. Why the reticence? I’d speculate that they are trying to avoid public shaming by AOC., and the Progressive Band? And Manchin is happy to take the heat–he’s lookin’ all full of integrity and whatnot—saying, “I cain’t, I just cayun’t..” And he’s puttin’ ol’ West Virginny on the map again. Okay, sorry, I realize I’m getting close to the line here. I guess crossing it would involve some sort of “squeal like a pig” reference
If it is the case that other moderates are hiding in Joe Manchin’s woodshed, secretly hatin’ on BBB—would you guys have any thoughts on what they don’t like about it?
–Dennis
I don’t doubt that other moderates are hiding behind Manchin’s (and Sinema’s) skirts. That has become clear in discussions of eliminating, or reforming, the filibuster. Other Dem Senators want to retain the rule so that they can prevent a Republican Senate from doing something truly crazy. (With Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley wandering the halls, I don’t know what they could possibly be worried about.) But as a result, the Senate does nothing.
Moderates’ fears on BBB all revolve around Job One, which is getting re-elected. (Job Two is raising campaign funds. Serving the nation is somewhere around Job Eleven.)
With inflation stalking the nation like the 10th curse of Pharaoh in The Ten Commandments, moderate Dems are scared of being tarred as taxin’, spending’, inflation-pushing’ libs. Manchin himself even referred to an “inflation tax”, which is actually not a thing.
I think re-election fears are a better explanation of the current paralysis than any conspiracy of the Dem establishment. Much as it would be supremely satisfying to oust Manchin from his chairmanship of the Energy Committee (that is not a typo), his vote is too important.
–Mark
Well, replying to the latest salvos here:
All bell ringers…Dennis’ made me LI (Laugh Inside—that is…funny…creative…witty…but I didn’t actually LOL….); in fact I bet most people who type LOL are lying. So there, got that off my chest). So did MM’s. Dennis: Keep pushing the line! I can already envision the context—bike ride with my Tuesday Slacker’s group, when the conversation wonders toward the backward south….or the deep swamps of Arkansas—remember when the once thought extinct Ivory billed woodpecker was spotted there?….about 15 years ago….sadly, I googled and it sounds like they’ve been extinct since the 40s. Magnificent bird.
As far as MO’s take—I would’ve said no, Manchin is rogue, but it sounds like I’m not current on that one.
Let’s segue to NPR Marketplace and suddenly, smarmy, full of himself, host Kai Rysdall. (I used to love Kai—so good at informing while reporting, still like him—but his ego’s grown and he is transitioning from journalist to performer—too many ‘me’ references….glib doesn’t get a journalist a free pass. Dadbots, yes; journalists, no.) So there, got that off my chest. Maybe Manchin’s got some of that virus? What was I saying? Oh yeah, inflation, Kai’s been stoking fears, quoting chair Powell, relentlessly for 9 months… always culminating with… ”Well, it doesn’t make sense…Wall Street is still going gonzo…”. Whatever, I bring up the “I” word only to report that Kai and others seem to think it is not the indicator, nor the spiraling animal of the late 20th century. But really, I have no clue, just relaying what I hear/read. Any thoughts on inflation being a wilting indicator? Even saying that seems to question the “science” of economics. Which it is not btw—no physics involved there—only greedy or fear motivated humans.
Back to conspiracy theory and dysfunctional government and MM’s initial topic. Obamacare may be the last big exception to the rule. At some point our elected leaders need to git ‘r done. They did then and who cares if it’s flawed? We can refine it, tune it. Our porous safety net for low income, given all our Yukons and Lulu Lemon outfits, is… insert your worst non profane adjective here…..I’ll go with reprehensible. At least the ACA is law, a step in the right direction. Even King Bill couldn’t get it done and he had 8 years and that folksy charisma. Not that I’m an Obama fan, I blame him for the ‘new boss, just like the old boss’ softness and allowing the Dem base to wilt and the dark side to emerge.
Last, Keep this hush hush… (I actually like Biden).
-D.
ps: Next time I have the glasses on a Downy I’m going to look closely at his/her feet.
Re. BBB. Chuck Schumer is threatening to put the BBB bill to a vote to flush out Joe Manchin and show the world what a traitorous turncoat Manchin is. But he’s gotta know Little Joe ain’t a-scaired o’ that, so is he just indulging in some chest-pounding to impress AOC.?
Re. Kai Rysdall. Dave, I hear ya about Kai. I had heard a story a couple years ago from people who worked at local NPR station WUWM that he came to town for some big NPR event with an entourage in tow, a hugely dismissive attitude, and various rock star demands about food and lodging needs. I thought that story was tainting my views about the overblown ego I then began hearing in his broadcasts, so I take your comments as validation. Speaking of big NPR egos, I remember Garrison Keillor and crew on Prairie Home Companion doing a version of what Dave suggested. They did a satire of NPR national news reporters making a huge deal of some minor event at Lake Wobegon. Just the way the actress did a spot on “This is Lakshmi Singh” with her NPR superior intonation cracked me up.
–Dennis
Love WUWM…. listened to it when the WERN (Madison) signal waned round Hartland while doing all those to/fros the last two falls moving the aged in-laws into homes…. It was then I learned the Milwaukee satellite has significantly more programming hours—especially weekends. I often stream it now instead of the local while walking the terrier. Next, I’m going to hunt down that Wobegon LS skit.
–Dave
I’m curious as to what Manchin’s vote is important for. I can’t see anything that’s important to me that could possibly get Manchin’s vote as the tiebreaker. Some judge appointment? I dunno.
MO
Wife just told me some miners association just came out against Manchin. She says the BBB has important ‘moving forward’ money in it…funding for black lung…etc.
I haven’t validated what said coal association really is.
–Dave
Now we’re talking’! These here miners are real red-blooded Americans! A New York Times reporter might even meet one of these folks in a diner!
I just read a statistic that shows how West Virginia has been sinking further down the socioeconomic scale. “In 1979 life expectancy in West Virginia was only about 14 months shorter than in New York; by 2016 the gap had widened to six years.”
You might think, all the more reason for Joe to accept economic aid to his state. But his political motivations are more along the lines of facing down those New York libs. You can’t blame him! That’s what the West Virginia voters love.
Mark O, I get your point about “what do Dems need Manchin for”? The only specific thing that I can think of is the skinnier down replacement for this bill.
–Mark M.
Hey bots,
Sorry I’m late to the party; yikes, a lot happens in just a day. I was just reading that West Virginia Joe has—and always has had—a close relationship with the United Mine Workers of America (probably how got elected as a Democrat down there). Anyway, they want continuing black lung protections, other benefits the bill provides, and help for out-of-work miners as well, and are pressuring coal-head Joe to vote for the BBB.
So, unless Joe wants to run as a Republican—and he might as well—he would lose a significant portion of his Democratic electorate. As Mark (and Dennis) points out, the quality of life in WV is not all that great. If, God forbid, voters start pressuring their reps to do what’s best for the people, and push hard enough to make it stick, we might start getting a legislature back.
All optimism aside, the factionalization of both parties seems to be leading us toward a European type of democracy where there might be five or six dominant parties, rather than just two. I don’t think that would be a bad thing. Unexpected and unholy coalitions might form if people to get things done badly enough. Maybe moderate Republicans and Progressives might agree on something—I couldn’t tell you what.
–Geoff
After reading some of the post-mortem reviews of the Joe vs Joe standoff, I’d say that it’s too early to say “all is lost”. The BBB was really trying to implement a huge boatload of new programs. It’s really tough to do that in a 50-50 Senate environment. The progressives are trying to load up BBB with every possible initiative, because they know the House is going GOP in 2022. In the words of David Axelrod, the libs see BBB as “The last plane out of Kabul.”
I’d put money that some skinnied-down version of BBB, with climate change and a couple other initiatives, will clear Congress by next March or April. The big question is, Will it include the Child Tax Credit? We bots are too old to qualify, but the CTC– which started under the Covid Rescue Plan–-is sending actual cash money checks of $300 per month to families, per kid under age six. Got two toddlers? That’s $600 cash per month. In age range 6-17, the credit is $250 per kid per month. This isn’t the old credit. It’s fully refundable, meaning you don’t have to pay any taxes to get it. The checks arrive monthly. You don’t have to wait for your tax return next year! Liberals quote statistics that it has moved some huge percentage of children out of poverty. They see it as a huge success story. Manchin, of course, hates the entitlement aspect of it. He has been quoted to the effect that a lot of the cash is going to the parents’ drug habits. Very nice!
It’s unclear to me why a helicopter drop of cash to parents on the lower to middle end of the income scale (CTC phases out at $150k income for a 2-parent family) is any more an egregious form of welfare than the GOP’s 2017 slash of corporate tax rates from 35% to 21%. It’s really all a matter of where we are injecting the money back into the economy– at the top, or at the bottom!
Anyway, that’s my final note. Well done fellow bots! I have to say, the level of erudition in this dialogue hasn’t been matched since the last time George Will took a shit.
-Mark